1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to word processors with an automatic layout function which automatically changes the layout structure of a document, and more particularly to a word processor in which if there is in a document a figure related to a text which is moved to a proper position in an automatic layout process, the figure is also moved automatically in conjunction with the movement of the text.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, in a word processor, the layout of an overall document created so far is arranged during or after creation of the document, and the text is then printed out.
Although such arrangement of the document layout is an accessary work in the creation of the document, it takes much time and labor. Thus, some word processors with an automatic layout function which analyzes the layout structure of a document and, if the text does not meet the rules of layout the data on which is preset in a dictionary memory as a result of the analysis, moves the text automatically to a proper position where the text meets the rules of layout that have been developed and are commercially available as articles.
Although, generally, the functions of editing a document and a figure thus are independent of each other in a word processor, the positions of the text and figure are related to each other in an actual document in many cases; for example, a character string is surrounded with a ruled line to emphasize part of the document. In such a case, conventionally, when a text is automatically moved by the automatic layout function, the user is required correspondingly to designate figures, related to the text, one by one while operating keys to move the figures.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when stored text characters "A B C D" are surrounded with a horizontally long rectangular frame figure, and only the document characters are edited by the automatic layout function to a "rightward shifted" position, the positions of the text and figure would deviate greatly from their desired positions, as shown. Thus, the user is required to perform an operation to move the figure to its original position.
Thus, if many figures are contained in a document, the user is required to perform such troublesome operations many times, which is a burden on the user to thereby reduce the work efficiency.